"Tony's best football is ahead of him," said Plant coach Robert Weiner. "I mean he is on the upswing for sure and has gotten so much better year to year, even the last few months. He's a student of the game and has all the physical traits to be another great lineman at Michigan. We are all real excited for him."

And finally, video of the commitment itself:

Welcome to the Maize and Blue family, Tony.

Happy Trails

IL OL Jordan Walshcommitted to Iowa. Michigan had seemed to be the favorite until this, so it's a big blow. Michigan needs at least one guard commit in the class and he was a highly rated one. Best chance there seems like IL OL Christian Bryant.

OH LB Antonio Poole never got a Michigan offer, so it's no surprise that the Wolverines are out of his final 3. He's making a decision soon, but if a Michigan offer comes...

Etc.

The Orlando Sentinel previews Dr. Phillips high school, home of FL RB Demetrius Hart and all the other D-1 prospects in the Panthers' lineup. As recruiting news goes, Auburn is back in the mix for Hart. His is becoming the kind of recruitment that followers shouldn't invest too much in on a day-to-day basis, and just see how it all shakes out in the end. Hopefully, that end will come in 23 days.

His plan as of now is to take all of his official visits to out of state schools. “I fixing to set one up with West Virginia coming up, so West Virginia will be the first one I take. Then, I’ll take one to Michigan, the (USC) Trojans, Oregon and probably Marshall.”

At the very least, that vindicates my insistence on leaving him on the board. If he does make it onto campus, there's always a chance at him.

Tom talked to FL OL James Elliott, who is visiting Ann Arbor tomorrow. Rich Rodriguez will be on his way to Seattle immediately after practice, but Elliott will have a chance to meet the headman when he returns for an official visit. He knows numbers along the offensive line are starting to get tight, and if he wants to pick Michigan, he'd better pick up the pace.

I'd removed him from the board long ago, but apparently NJ OL Keith Lumpkin has Michigan in his top group. He's trimmed his list to ten, including the Wolverines. Michigan's recruiting along the offensive line might get wrapped up pretty soon, so Lumpkin will have to visit soon if he's serious about Michigan.

MI DE/DT Damon Knox picked up three Big Ten offers last week ($, info in header), and his Rivals profile now shows that Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State are those three. Knox reportedly has issues with his grades, so those offers are probably conditional upon improvement in the classroom. His film is impressive:

Knox was also a top performer at the Michigan Football Showcase (video), and is he can get his academics in order, he could fill out to be one of the defensive tackles in Michigan's class.

(Re-)Added CA LB/DE Woodson Greer, who holds a Michigan offer. Despite that, he seems unlikely to leave the West Coast.

IL DE James Adeyanju has locked in official visits to Wisconsin, Boston College, Nebraska, and Illinois. Michigan is in a group of six schools vying for his fifth and final visit. As of now, he's a backup prospect for Michigan, and will likely take that visit elsewhere.

OH CB Commit Greg Brown intends to enroll early at Michigan ($, info in header). He's the only current commit that has publicly mentioned early enrollment.

“I plan on making my decision before signing day but not before the season ends... I have my top schools, Michigan, Miami, LSU, Wake Forest, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee.”

That's a positive sign, but we'll have to wait until December or January to find out whether he likes Michigan enough to come up North. Crawford's teammate, WR/S Sammy Watkins, missed the team's first practice, and is a much longer shot for the Wolverines. If Rich Rod can land Crawford, however, it can only help.

OH CB Doran Grant is the subject of the latest Sam Webb profile in the Detroit News. He's down to a final 10 including Michigan, and will trim to a final 5 soon, also likely to include Michigan.

"It is a good vibe (at Michigan)," Grant later added. "I'll probably say that they are going to get an official visit. I'll say that now. Michigan is going to get one, hands-down."

Ohio State ad Michigan State are still on top, but the Wolverines remain in the hunt. He will make his decision a couple weeks after his senior season ends.

Tom's weekly update contains new info on FL Slot Prince Holloway, MI DE/OL Anthony Zettel, FL CB Dallas Crawford, and a few 2012 prospects. Check it out for the latest.

2012

Has OH RB Warren Ball committed to Ohio State? He's playing it coy, but even if he hasn't committed, his tone ("that's my dream school") makes it seem like only a matter of time. Maybe his teammate, 2011 Michigan Commit Chris Rock, can convince him otherwise?

Fluff on MO WR Dorial Green-Beckham. He's now on a "no fluff links" policy, so until there's actual recruiting news about him, he won't appear in this space again.

Knox would be a nice pickup at defensive tackle, since we are pretty thing up front. At 6-5 and 255, he'd probably need at least 1 year under Barwis to get to a weight that would let him succeed, but he could certainly be an asset.

Unfortunately, though, in light of the Dorsey fiasco I think UM needs to stay away from kids with sketchy academics unless there is a certified proof from admissions that he'll be accepted if he hits X goals and there is proof that those goals were actually met.

Michigan is still a longshot, but I think he's somebody we might have a stronger chance for than we think if Michigan performs well on the field. It would be great to get him on an official visit and have him on the sideline while we run MSU off the field, for example. Something like that might spark more interest in us, while devaluing the other. If Michigan cant turn it around with Grant, hopefully he goes to Miami or something instead of MSU or OSU.

The Poole kid I dont know much about, but Rivals has him ranked pretty high on the ohio list, so I am surprised he doesnt have bigger names in the mix outside of Cincy, Kentucky and Purdue

Knox looks like a beast! Great size for a young fella. I don't get why Grant would even consider MSU over UM. Another thing, I see kids with both UM and WVU on their lists. Again, if you have the choice it seems like a no brainer to me.

Saw Kelvin Benjamin at the Heath Evans 7-on-7 this summer and he was easily the most dominant player at the event... better than James Wilder, Nick O'Leary, etc. The guy was a mismatch no matter where he lined up. Best part was that his QB was not the best, but he would find a way to get to the ball and make a catch in heavy traffic---always.